Poll finds Cornyn, Paxton in dead heat in Texas’ Senate GOP primary
Every previous public poll had shown the attorney general with a considerable lead over Texas’ incumbent senator.
Kratom poisoning calls climb in Texas as the state fails to enforce ban on synthetic version
Texas law bans the sale of synthetic kratom, but it isn’t enforced. Earlier this year, legislation died in the Texas House to ban the natural plant, too.
Riding political wins, a once-restrained Gov. Greg Abbott is increasingly steamrolling foes
The third-term governor appears determined to win any battle — even if it means scorched-earth primary crusades or trying to boot duly elected legislators from office.
Texas megadonor Alex Fairly will fund legal bid to keep GOP lawmakers on the primary ballot
The Amarillo businessman said he would tap into the $20 million political action committee he launched last year to preserve ballot access for censured Republicans.
Texas school ratings improve, but more campuses inch closer to state sanctions
Fewer schools received a D or an F in the 2024-25 school year than the year prior. But for many of those campuses, several years of low grades in a row means more pressure to improve — or risk more state oversight.
From admiration to Alaska: A timeline of Trump and Putin’s high-stakes encounters
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in person on Friday for the first time in six years when they get together in Anchorage, Alaska. Here is a history of Trump’s high-stakes interactions with Putin while being President of the United States: Mutual admiration was publicly brewing between Putin and Trump in late 2015 when Trump was running for his first term in office. In December that year, Putin described Trump as being the “absolute leader in the presidential race” and a “very outstanding person, talented, without any doubt.” TRUMP TO HOLD HISTORIC SUMMIT WITH PUTIN IN ALASKA SEEKING AN END TO RUSSIA–UKRAINE WAR Trump later told supporters at a rally in Ohio that “It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.” “I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect,” Trump added, according to The Hill. Trump and Putin held their first in-person meeting on July 7, 2017, at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. The sit-down lasted for more than two hours, during which Trump “pressed Russia’s Vladimir Putin on U.S. election meddling while also making headway on the Syria crisis,” according to a Fox News Digital report at the time. Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump and Putin “connected very quickly” and had “positive chemistry.” Trump and Putin were captured on camera shaking hands months later during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Da Nang, Vietnam on Nov. 10, 2017. White House officials said at the time they would not have a formal meeting there due to scheduling issues, The Washington Post reported. Trump and Putin met again formally on July 16, 2018, at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. In an interview following the meeting, Putin told Fox News that he and Trump discussed Iran’s nuclear program and the “situation with North Korea.” WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S MEETING WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN IN ALASKA He also said Trump informed him that his posture is “Crimea is part of Ukraine.” Trump told reporters on June 29, 2019, that he and Putin had a “tremendous discussion” at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. “I think they’d like to do trade with the United States. And they have great product. They have great land. They have very rich land. And a lot of oil, a lot of minerals, and the kind of things that we like,” Trump said at the time. “And I can see trade going out with Russia. We could do fantastically well. We do very little trade with Russia, which is ridiculous, frankly. So I could see some very positive things happening.” Trump also told his counterpart not to “meddle” in the 2020 elections when pressed by a reporter, Fox News Digital wrote at the time. Trump, who was seated next to Putin, was asked by a reporter if he would tell “the Russian president to not meddle in the election.” Trump, without looking at Putin, responded, “Of course I will. Don’t meddle in the election, president. Don’t meddle in the election.” Trump and Putin held numerous phone calls this year in the lead-up to Friday’s meeting in Alaska. Calls took place in February, March, May and June. VLADIMIR PUTIN TO RETURN TO US FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A DECADE Trump said after his call in May that “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.” Trump and Putin are meeting Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, for the first time in years. The high-stakes meeting is the first U.S.-Russia summit since June 2021, which was under former President Joe Biden’s administration. That summit came just eight months before Putin invaded Ukraine. Trump has described the talks as a “feel-out meeting,” and has made clear that his top priority will be to determine whether a ceasefire in Ukraine is possible. Trump predicted earlier this week that he would be able to make that determination within the first “two minutes.” Fox News’ Brooke Singman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Schumer claims Trump admin withholding Epstein files, threatens to sue
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is threatening to sue the Trump administration if they don’t release the Epstein files. Late last month, Schumer and every Senate Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee invoked an arcane, nearly century-old law to compel the Trump administration to release information on Jeffrey Epstein. DEMOCRATS ARE HAMMERING REPUBLICANS ON EPSTEIN, BUT ONE SENATOR BRUSHED OFF THE ISSUE YEARS AGO The move came as Epstein drama had already paralyzed the House, and as Democrats in the upper chamber began to ramp up their messaging against President Donald Trump for his handling of the issue. And Friday was the deadline for the Justice Department and White House to comply, and so far, the documents have not been given to Schumer and Senate Democrats. “They’re now breaking the law to hide the files,” Schumer said on X. “[Senate Majority Leader John Thune] must appoint a lawyer to defend the Senate in Court and get the files.” “If he chooses complicity — we’ll take them to court ourselves.” ‘LOUDER BY THE HOUR’: SENATE GOP WANTS THE EPSTEIN DRAMA TO END, BUT DEMOCRATS AREN’T LETTING IT GO The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Thune’s office for comment. However, a senior GOP aide noted to Fox News Digital that it’s not entirely up to the South Dakota Republican to appoint legal counsel to represent the Senate. Instead, that falls onto the Senate Joint Leadership Group, which includes Thune, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and the president pro-tempore of the Senate, Schumer, and the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Judiciary and, in this case, the Homeland Security committees. That committee would have to approve legal counsel on a two-thirds vote. Or, the Senate could vote on a resolution to grant legal counsel, which also requires two-thirds of lawmakers to advance. Last month, Democrats invoked the “rule of five,” a 1928 law that requires government agencies to hand over information if any five lawmakers on a Senate or House committee with jurisdiction over the information make a request. Typically, it’s viewed as a tool of the minority party to exert oversight powers. SCHUMER SAYS CENTURY-OLD LAW FORCES TRUMP DOJ, FBI TO RELEASE JEFFREY EPSTEIN FILES BY AUGUST DEADLINE In a letter sent to the White House and the DOJ, Schumer and Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security panel charged that it was “essential that the Trump Administration provide full transparency,” in releasing the files related to the late pedophile. “We call on you to fulfill those promises of transparency,” they wrote. Democrats’ request included all documents, files, evidence and other materials that DOJ had related to the case of U.S. v. Jeffrey Epstein, along with any records related to Epstein and his clients. However, whether the law is enforceable in court remains to be seen, given that it has seldom been used since its inception. The last attempt came in 2017, when Democrats tried to force the release of documents surrounding the lease of the Old Post Office building in the District, which became one of Trump’s hotels.
Zohran Mamdani closes out his anti-Trump tour in his home borough in Queens
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani closed out the fifth and final day of his “Five Boroughs Against Trump” tour at his home borough in Queens. At the 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Richmond Hill on Friday morning, Mamdani wrapped his week-long, anti-Trump tour and was endorsed by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. He was also joined by workers from across Queens whom the campaign said are on the “frontlines of attacks from the Trump administration.” One by one, the union workers shared their personal testimonies about Trump’s impact on their industries. “The struggle in New York City, though it is often used to justify so much, has no real interest to Donald Trump, no real care or concern,” Mamdani said on Friday. ‘GET OUT OF TOWN!’: STATEN ISLAND CROWD CONFRONTS ZOHRAN MAMDANI AT ANTI-TRUMP RALLY Mamdani visited Manhattan on Monday, Brooklyn on Tuesday, Staten Island on Wednesday, the Bronx on Thursday and Queens on Friday to reject the impact of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda on New York City. MAMDANI POINTS TO BRONX POPULATION LOSS AS PROOF NYC’S AFFORDABILITY CRISIS DURING HIS ANTI-TRUMP TOUR “Today marks the fifth and final day in our Five Borough tour of this city, and standing up against the Trump administration’s vision and the way in which it mandates an attack on the very fabric of the city that we call home,” Mamdani said on Friday. Topics throughout the week ranged from immigration to the economy as Mamdani worked to tie his leading opponent in the race for Gracie Mansion, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to Trump. “After this Five Borough tour, it would be rational to feel a sense of helplessness, to feel a sense of disappointment,” Mamdani said on Friday. Mamdani said on Friday that the tour brought him a “sense of hope” because he saw New Yorkers “struggling with the burden that this vision from Washington, D.C., has created for all of us,” and yet, they “continue to dream of the life that they deserve in this city.” “This is about working people and ensuring that working people can thrive and survive in this very city that’s becoming out of reach for everyday New Yorkers,” the Bronx borough president said, explaining his endorsement of Mamdani. And as Mamdani faced criticism from some Staten Islanders earlier this week who joined Trump in labeling him a “communist,” Richards reminded the group gathered that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “was called a socialist and communist as well, for those who need a reminder.” “The voters have spoken in this city, and they said that they’re looking for something different,” the Queens leader said. Fox News Digital caught up with Richards after the event to clarify if he was comparing Mamdani to King. The Borough president said he would never say that Mamdani is King, but that both leaders have been called communists, and that Mamdani is “speaking to the pulse of what people care about right now.” When reached for comment regarding Mamdani’s anti-Trump tour earlier in the week, White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, told Fox News Digital, “Comrade Mamdani is the American people’s worst nightmare.” “His communist policies will crater our economy, increase crime, crowd out Americans with free health care for illegal immigrants, and defund the brave men and women of law enforcement who keep us safe,” Jackson said. The White House added, “The American people have repeatedly rejected this communist agenda and the more Mamdani shares his radical policies, the more the American people will recoil.”
Abbott, Texas Republicans launch new Trump-backed redistricting push as fleeing Democrats plan to end walkout
The Texas House of Representatives again failed to reach quorum Friday morning after Democrats failed to show up. As the Democratic lawmakers who fled Texas to prevent any votes on congressional redistricting in the red state signal they’re coming home, Republicans in the GOP-dominated Texas legislature adjourned the current special session when they gathered in the morning. Minutes later, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called into order a second straight special session of the state legislature, to pass GOP-crafted maps to create up to five Republican-friendly congressional districts at the expense of currently Democrat-controlled seats. The new session was scheduled to get underway at Noon CT. The fast-paced moves in Austin are the latest in the high-stakes national battle between Republicans and Democrats over congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections. FLEEING TEXAS DEMOCRATS SIGNAL THEY’LL COME HOME The action in Austin comes one day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats unveiled their playbook to counter the push by President Donald Trump and Republicans to enact rare – but not unheard of – mid-decade congressional redistricting. Newsom vowed to “meet fire with fire” by redrawing blue-state California’s congressional maps to create five more Democrat-leaning districts. REDISTRICTING BATTLE: NEWSOM VOWS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’ The state Democratic lawmakers, who fled to the blue states of Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, said that they would return to Texas after the adjournment of the current special session. However, they didn’t say specifically which day they would come home. The end of the walkout by the Democrats will lead to the passage of the new maps, but Texas Democrats vow they’ll fight the new state maps in court and say the moves by California are allowing them to pass “the baton.” “Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts,” Texas state House Democratic leader Rep. Gene Wu said on Thursday. Abbott is urging Texas’ highest court to remove Wu from office, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked that 13 Democratic state lawmakers also be removed from office. The fleeing lawmakers also face fines of up to $500 per day for their absence. In Texas, the state Senate passed the new congressional maps, but Democratic lawmakers in the House fled the state, preventing the House from reaching a quorum. That effectively blocked any votes in the chamber to approve the GOP redistricting push. Both houses of the state legislature started meeting at 10am CT on Friday, and the House, after once again falling short of reaching a quorum, adjourned the current special session. Abbott then called for the second special session. “The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans,” Abbott said earlier this week. “There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them.” Additionally, the three-term conservative governor vowed “I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.” The Republican push in Texas, which comes at Trump’s urging, is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to pad their razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms. However, while the Republican push in Texas to upend the current congressional maps doesn’t face constitutional constraints, Newsom’s path in California is much more complicated. SCHWARZENEGGER’S NEW STARING ROLE: PUSHING BACK AGAINST NEWSOM’S REDISTRICTING DRIVE The governor is moving to hold a special election this year, to obtain voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the non-partisan redistricting commission. A two-thirds majority vote in the Democrat-dominated California legislature would be needed to hold the referendum. Democratic Party leaders are confident they’ll have the votes to push the constitutional amendment and the new proposed congressional maps through the legislature. “Here we are in open and plain sight before one vote is cast in the 2026 midterm election and here [Trump] is once again trying to rig the system,” Newsom charged on Thursday. Thursday’s appearance by Newsom, who is considered a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, will also serve as a fundraising kickoff to raise massive amounts of campaign cash needed to sell the redistricting push statewide in California. The non-partisan redistricting commission, created over 15 years ago, remains popular with most Californians, according to public opinion polling. That’s why Newsom and California Democratic lawmakers are promising not to scrap the commission entirely, but rather replace it temporarily by the legislature for the next three election cycles. “We will affirm our commitment to the state independent redistricting after the 2030 census, but we asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting,” Newsom said. However, their efforts are opposed by a number of coalition of figures supportive of the non-partisan commission. Among the most visible members is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican elected governor in Democrat-dominated California. Democrats currently control 43 of the state’s 52 House seats. In Texas, Republicans control 25 of the state’s 38 congressional districts.
‘Not welcome here’: Staten Island activist arrested after confronting NYC mayoral candidate
Activist Scott Lo Baido was arrested outside New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Trump event on Staten Island on Wednesday. A viral social media video revealed that Lo Baido told Mamdani, “This is my f—ing island, you are not welcome here,” as he was physically held back while approaching the candidate after the event at Istanbul Bay Authentic Mediterranean Restaurant on Staten Island. Lo Baido shouted profanities at Mamdani, telling the candidate that he hates Jews, cops and America. The protester, who shouted into a megaphone during the opening remarks of Mamdani’s event, was later arrested by the New York Police Department (NYPD). In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Friday morning, Lo Baido confirmed his arrest and said, “I suggest that somebody in every single borough every time this man shows his face to do what I did the other day.” ‘GET OUT OF TOWN!’: STATEN ISLAND CROWD CONFRONTS ZOHRAN MAMDANI AT ANTI-TRUMP RALLY Lo Baido told his followers on X that he received three summonses upon arrest for sound without permit, disorderly conduct and foul language. “Go back to where you came from. We don’t want you on Staten Island,” a protester wearing a “Trump girl” T-shirt and holding an American flag shouted at the 33-year-old self-described socialist as he exited the backdoor of the restaurant. MAMDANI TAKES AIM AT TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES IN FIERY STATEN ISLAND SPEECH: ‘WE ARE FIGHTING TO KEEP NYC A SANCTUARY CITY’ Inside the event, as Mamdani kicked off his third anti-Trump event of the week, protesters outside the restaurant drowned out the introductory speeches with their cowbells, sirens and megaphones. Despite the heat in the crowded restaurant and his detractors outside, Mamdani maintained a smile throughout the event and told reporters, “It saddens me to hear language of being told to go back to where I came from, and yet, it is not surprising because it is so much of what characterizes President Trump’s politics.” Mamdani was hosting his third “Five Boroughs Against Trump” event of the week on Wednesday, reaffirming his commitment to protecting New Yorkers from Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration if he’s elected mayor of New York City this November. “I will not let it dissuade me from continuing to come to Staten Island, from continuing to speak to New Yorkers, no matter where they live, no matter what politics they have,” Mamdani said in response to the protesters. “Because I know that just as there are Republicans who feel that way, there are others who are sincere in their questions.” Several protesters outside the restaurant told Fox News Digital that they planned to vote for Curtis Sliwa, CEO of the Guardian Angels, this November. “He’s the only one that could save our city,” Ed, a Staten Islander carrying a large American flag, said. Ed told Fox News Digital that he wanted to give Mamdani “a little surprise party” and let the socialist candidate know that his values do not represent those of Staten Island. “This is Trump country,” said Manny, another protester and Wall Street retiree who said Mamdani’s policies are “anti-Wall Street.” Trump won Staten Island by 30 points in the 2024 presidential election, according to The New York Times’ data. Meanwhile, in neighboring Brooklyn, former Vice President Kamala Harris carried the borough by 44 points. Tommy Banks, a native Staten Islander, said his message to Mamdani on Wednesday was simple. “Get out of town.” “He wants to make everything free. He can’t afford that. He’s a socialist. He don’t live that. We’re not socialist,” Banks said. Banks agreed with the other protesters outside the restaurant, telling Fox News Digital that “nobody else” could be mayor but Sliwa. “He’s a true New Yorker. He’s been fighting for New York all his life. Give him a chance to get in there,” Banks said. Another protester, Liz, shouted, “Mamdani’s a commie!” as the Democratic nominee departed in his SUV. Liz said she doesn’t like Mamdani because “he’s not a Democrat, he’s a communist.” She said Mamdani is trying to tempt New Yorkers with campaign promises like free childcare, free bus fare and government-run grocery stores, but Liz said it would be a “disaster” if he became mayor. When Mamdani declared victory in the Democratic primary, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, called Mamdani a “snake-oil salesman” who would “say and do anything to get elected.” Trump has often criticized Mamdani and his policies, calling him a “100% communist lunatic.” Staten Islanders who spoke to Fox News Digital outside Mamdani’s anti-Trump event on Wednesday seemed to agree with those sentiments, calling him a “commie” and criticizing his policies, which include freezing the rent, raising corporate taxes and increasing the minimum wage. However, Shahana Masum, who sported a “Zohran for Staten Island” sticker on her purse and attended the event, told Fox News Digital that Mamdani is the person who is representing “me and my community.” Masum said she has also been told to go back to her country. To that, she said, “You didn’t go back to your country, and I came here with dignity and with my visa, so don’t tell me to leave.” Fox News’ Bryan Llenas and Marly Carroll contributed to this report.